Humor in Video Games

Unlike the film world, where comedies have dominated the globe for decades, humor was very slow to creep into gaming. In the early days, this was mostly due to the technical constraints of PCs. Someone with a dark sense of humor might get a laugh out of a line like, “Mary has died of a snakebite” in the 1980s classic, Oregon Trail, but the nature of text-based games is that it is nearly impossible to have any comedic timing. As time wore on and we were introduced to 3D characters, voiced lines, and larger worlds, developers still rarely added comedic elements to their games. A common theory is that they did not want to take away from the legitimacy of the blooming new industry by adding cheap laughs, so instead focused on more serious aspects like graphics and AI development.

There is no clear point at which humor became more widespread in games. Its use and effectiveness is very genre-specific, and is still used sparingly in most genres to avoid scaring away more serious players. In this article, we will break down the role of comedic relief across a handful of genres, discussing times when it is highly effective, and others where it is more controversial. If you are ever looking to add some comedic elements to your game, contact Argentics and we will gladly help you out. Our seasoned animators can help add physical comedy to your title, for example by making one of your characters trip and fall goofily.

The easiest place to start this discussion is the comedy genre. Comedy games are those which players buy first-and-foremost for the laughs. These games always masquerade as another genre, typically action or adventure, but at the end of the day everyone is playing them for the same reason: to laugh. One of the most clear-cut examples of this is the South Park video game anthology. Since 1998, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, writers of the timeless TV show, have teamed up with gaming studios to release a whopping ten titles! The most popular release was undoubtedly their 2014 gem, South Park: The Stick of Truth, developed by Obsidian. In this game, you play as the New Kid, a silent protagonist who will go on adventures and get into battles alongside everyone’s favorite four boys from Colorado. The game is a mixture of exploring an open-world, 2.5D South Park, and turn-based combat that takes place on a grid system.

Battle aliens, government agencies, and worst of all… Canadians, on a humorous quest to survive third grade and recover the Stick of Truth, a twig from the woods said to possess unlimited power.

The game’s combat system is well hashed-out for a comedy title, and allows players to choose between four distinct classes and learn a handful of new moves. That said, nobody is buying this game or its successors, The Fractured, but Whole (2017) and Snow Day! (2024) solely for the action. These games are all about their hilarious dialogue, bizarre quests, and reimagining of the world through the eyes of some seriously messed up third graders. Just like the TV show, the South Park games are shrouded in controversy. The content is not politically correct (except when PC Principal is around, of course), and the humor alternates from third grade slapstick to deep political satire in mere seconds. In a society where all press is good press, this has helped sell many copies while enraging a handful of social groups. South Park is renowned for pushing the limits of what type of humor is acceptable. This series is at the extreme end of what a comedy game can look like. If you’re a fan of the show, or want to see just how far some studios are willing to push their luck, the companion games are guaranteed to offer a good laugh.

South Park was developed with some serious cash backing, but a big budget is far from necessary to get people laughing. Another hilarious game worth scoping out is West of Loathing, a bizarre cowboy western RPG that takes place in a completely line-drawn world. This one is whacky, folks. You play as a stickman who leaves home to take on the wild world west of Loathing. The game is mostly spent completing retrieval quests for NPCs. You can find what they need through a crude combat system, wittiness in dialog, or by purchasing it with the in-game currency, meat. What makes these quests so fun are the zany item descriptions, and the narration of certain player actions. A great example is the narrator growing increasingly disgusted with the player every time they search a spittoon for loot. This game offers a truly unique experience, and the awesome dialog really pops due to the barebones art style!

While on the topic of games that are borderline insane, we recommend heading over to Happy’s Humble Burger Farm, where you will experience something that is quite unlike anything else on the market. In this game, you play as an overnight line cook at a failing burger franchise, but this is far from your average fast food simulator. The restaurant, city, and your mind are full of dark surprises. This game blends classic horror elements with mental gymnastics similar to films Shutter Island or The Truman Show. The player can try to ignore the conspiracies and weird happenings, or plunge into depths unknown to get to the bottom of things. The game is actually quite scary, but retains a sort of morbid hilarity. It’s hard not to laugh at yourself when you realize you just threw off your headset and jumped out of your gaming chair over a jumpscare from a cow mascot in a fast food restaurant. For fans of absurdist humor and conspiracy-driven mysteries, go drop off an application at Happy’s Humble Burger Farm!

The late comic George Carlin preached that it is dull to reuse a punchline, unless you use it so much that the audience sees it coming and still can’t stop laughing. Another great horror-comedy, Mouthwashing, makes deliberate use of this principle. In Mouthwashing, you play as Jimmy, a scrub aboard a space freighter that was seemingly steered off course and into harm’s way on purpose. Your job is to get to the bottom of this surrealistic mystery, while trying to save as many lives as possible. This game is not heavily player-driven; you will control movement and solve a handful of puzzles, but your main job is to sit back and enjoy watching the mystery unfold, much like the gameplay of the 2017 cult classic, What Remains of Edith Finch. People who have played this game recommend firing it up with as little background information as possible. With the price tag sitting around $12USD, we recommend fans of humor, sci-fi, or story-based games give it a go before they run into any spoilers.

Rounding out our list of indie games is 2023’s Lethal Company. This game blends space exploration with the horrors of blue collar work, and pokes a ton of fun at the way The Man views employees. This is a 4 person co-op game, where you work as a grunt for a space prospecting corporation. You use currency to land on one of eight moons, whose surfaces are static, but once you dive into their underground bases and caves, things take a roguelike turn. Each underground location is randomly generated, which can be horrifying considering your boss only gives you three in-game days to complete your loot quota before abandoning you. The satire in this game is a pretty harsh critique of what it’s like to work for massive corporations like Amazon or Apple, but the most hilarious moments really hinge on who you’re playing with. Your squad will experience different foes and entities slightly differently, so hearing one friend freak out that they’re being mauled by a witch, while all you can see is them pawing at the air in front of them, adds for some crazy moments. The game is difficult, but the ways that you die often leave you laughing and not frustrated. Moreover, this game is a beacon for what an indie developer can do with the right idea and enough commitment, as it was developed by just one man, Zeekerss. It is a testament to the fact that a game can be great without having a big budget, fancy graphics, or ultra-realistic movement.

On the other end of the humor spectrum we find simulation games. These range from sports titles, to simulation shooters like Insurgency: Sandstorm and Hell Let Loose. Milsims like these tend to be incredibly dry games, and for good reason. Someone who wants to play a hardcore war simulator is not there for witty jokes or easter eggs. The lesson to draw from these titles is that it is paramount for a developer to understand their audience. People play games for a myriad of reasons, and understanding when not to crack a joke is just as important as being funny in another title.

Balancing humor in a simulation game can be tricky, though. The reality is, real life is often full of humor. This forces dev teams to decide just how far they want to stretch things in their games. A great case study of this are sports titles. Since the late 90s, games like Quarterback Club and NHL began incorporating play-by-play announcers and color commentators. This addition added tons of depth and realism to sports games, and just like their real-world counterparts, added some comic relief to the virtual gridirons and rinks of the world. Hearing some friendly banter between two announcers, or listening to them enthusiastically cheer on a big man as he tromps to the end zone with sloth-like speed can make for some good laughs.

While no fans are opposed to lighthearted gameday commentary, some controversy over in-game announcers has arisen in recent years. Just as it was a scandal when actress actress Mary Maclane first broke the “fourth wall” in her 1918 silent film, Men Who Have Made Love to Me, EA received backlash from sports fans by having their announcers do the same in this year’s Madden and College Football releases. Hearing Brandon Gaudin or Rece Davis break from their realistic gameday persona and rib a player for running up the score, or punting in a risky situation can snap the illusion of reality in these games and remind players that they’re sitting in front of their TV, and not leading the Badgers to their first national title. To the casual player, commentary like this can be funny, but for a true football fanatic seeking a simulation experience, this can ruin everything. EA is obviously a powerhouse company that weighed this decision before altering their almost bullet-proof product, but again the lesson is to understand who the majority of your target audience is.

Open world games have the most freedom of when and where to incorporate humor. These range from blockbuster AAA releases like Red Dead Redemption and GTA, to cult classics like Sleeping Dogs or True Crime. The one thing all of these games have in common is that they try to emulate aspects of the real world. Sure, your average Joe isn’t going around performing heists or getting tangled up with the Triads of Hong Kong, but these games only try to establish a realistic setting. As mentioned earlier, the real world is a funny place and this forces devs to choose just how much humor they would like to sprinkle into their world.

The most notorious ways Rockstar developers added humor to their flagship GTA series was through in-game radio stations. Since the very first title in the series, players could climb into cars and listen to a handful of different stations, complete with music, over-the-top talk show hosts, and hilarious ads. The beauty of this strategy? It in no way breaks the immersion of the game. It’s not uncommon to hear such hilarity on real world airwaves, so even if the content is a bit whacky, it only exists within a protected realm of the game. Many other series have used this tactic, like Fallout 3 using DJ Three Dog to add much-needed life to the post-apocalyptic wasteland or Saints Row II pushing on-air humor to its absolute limits.

In addition to their radio content, Saints Row II was one of the first large, open-world games to rely on humor to set it apart from the crowd. Initially, the dev team wanted to make the game more funny to set it apart from GTA. This started something of a snowball effect and led to the star-studded cast of Neil Patrick Harris, Keith David, Eliza Dushku, and more ad libbing some unforgettably funny lines. On top of dialog, Saints Row also includes some Buster Keaton-esque physical comedy, such as the ceiling caving in on the gang seconds after someone asks if the battle is over. This kind of joke requires great coordination between the writing team and animators in order to perfect the comedic timing. Our project managers and consultants at Argentics can help your team coordinate such cinematic moments by making sure all organs of your team are working towards the same final vision.

The final open world series we will touch on is Just Cause. On the surface, these appear to be some more run-of-the-mill action games akin to Mercenaries or Red Faction, but the humor lies in just how hard the developers at Avalanche Studios try to make sure their games include every classic 80’s movie trope. Strong handsome protagonist? Check. Horribly delivered one-liners? You got it. Villains with comically evil lairs? Of course! In many ways, Just Cause is the Austin Powers of the action-gaming world. The gameplay itself is super exciting, but as you’re surfing the wing of an airborne jet while flirting with your radio dispatcher, it becomes clear that this series is a parody of all the unrealistic shoot-em-up movies of the previous century. Transcending the meta of in-game comedy was a risk, but the smooth mechanics and sandbox feel make the game a hoot even if you don’t pick up on the Rambo, Die Hard, and Terminator digs.

The final open world series we will touch on is Just Cause. On the surface, these appear to be some more run-of-the-mill action games akin to Mercenaries or Red Faction, but the humor lies in just how hard the developers at Avalanche Studios try to make sure their games include every classic 80’s movie trope. Strong handsome protagonist? Check. Horribly delivered one-liners? You got it. Villains with comically evil lairs? Of course! In many ways, Just Cause is the Austin Powers of the action-gaming world. The gameplay itself is super exciting, but as you’re surfing the wing of an airborne jet while flirting with your radio dispatcher, it becomes clear that this series is a parody of all the unrealistic shoot-em-up movies of the previous century. Transcending the meta of in-game comedy was a risk, but the smooth mechanics and sandbox feel make the game a hoot even if you don’t pick up on the Rambo, Die Hard, and Terminator digs.